


One Grain of Sand

by edgelordjonesthethird



Series: One Grain of Sand [1]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fix-It of Sorts, Swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-17 14:15:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29718429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/edgelordjonesthethird/pseuds/edgelordjonesthethird
Summary: Jughead is home instead of Archie and he and Betty have the conversation that is seven years too late. 5x06 fix it (sort of)
Relationships: Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Series: One Grain of Sand [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2187708
Comments: 12
Kudos: 54





	One Grain of Sand

Polly was in trouble, which admittedly was nothing new in the Cooper/Smith household, however, something felt this time. Perhaps it was one too many documentaries on the Green River killer or her time spent down in her own murder hole but Betty more unsettled than she had in the past. This wasn’t being knocked up in a nunnery, or even being in an organ stealing cult, this was clearly getting lost in the seedy underbelly of Riverdale. Betty couldn’t listen to her mother try to console the twins assuring them their mother had gone away on business while sipping on white wine to try to convince herself that her eldest daughter would soon return home.

Betty pulled the curtain back of her bedroom and glanced out towards Archie’s lights were on. This time was usually the shift Jughead worked, she had memorized it in her attempts to help him avoid her as he was clearly doing. Perfect, just what she needed, a mindless distraction. Archie was always good for that. It felt good to have something not so serious going on in her life; light and breezy.

She shuffled across the yard and knocked on the front door; she bounced in anticipation waiting for the front door to open. When it did she was not expecting to greeted by Jughead Jones himself; he was in his Pop’s uniform, the first couple buttons undone with a beer in hand and his glasses resting on the bridge of his nose.

“Betty?” It came out more like a question than a greeting. “You’re looking for Archie, aren’t you?” He sighed.

Originally she thought she had been, but a sigh of relief escaped her lips almost subconsciously. “I’m looking to get out of my house.” She finally admitted with a sigh. “It’s been a hard couple of days.”

Jughead nodded in agreement. “Yeah I heard about Polly, I meant to reach out I’ve just been” –

“Busy avoiding me?” Betty smirked, knowingly. “Look, I know things can never be the same between us again, but I was hoping we could at least be friends, you were one of my best friends practically my whole life.”

Jughead took a swig of his beer, clearly ruminating. “ Do you want to come in and have a beer?” He offered finally. “I mean I know why you’re here to see Archie, and I can’t give you that but I can offer you an ear.”

Betty’s jaw dropped. “W-what do you mean?” She gasped.

Jughead’s eyebrow rose. “Well, you two aren’t exactly subtle, and Archie keeps going on about night jogging, and you just both happened to be in the shop class half-dressed from what I heard, you should be careful Becky from my English class is quite chatty.”

Betty felt some guilt boiling in her stomach. “Jug, look I”-

He raised a hand to silence her. “I don’t feel like hearing about right now, so either take the beer or just go find Archie, he’s the football field.” Jughead sighed. “Then we can go back to never talking again if that’s what you want.”

Betty hesitated and then took a step forward. “I don’t drink the lite shit.” She smiled meekly.

For the briefest of moments, she thinks she sees him smile. “You don’t think I know you by now?” He snorted.

The beer started flowing and for a while, it felt like the old times and they even laughed a few times. Jughead sipped what was probably his fifth beer of the night which worried Betty because he seemed so unphased by it. “So, do you want some pizza or something, we’ve had quite a bit to drink, don’t want you to be too hungover for class tomorrow.” He offered.

Betty stood up and advanced towards him; her face turned red with anger. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

Betty’s insides buzzed, was pizza a code or something? How much did he find out from what was going on between her and Archie? She leaned in to kiss him. “Your Room?” She whispered, suggestively.

Jughead shoved her away gently. “Woah, Woah, I meant pizza, I haven’t had dinner yet, and clearly by your sudden urge to suck my face neither have you.” He snapped and stood up from his spot on the couch. “How dare you try to use me like that, I’m not Archie, I’m not chill with that.” He seethed.

Betty stood up and stormed towards him. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” She snapped.

Jughead laughed humorlessly. “It means that every time you’re stressed or something isn’t going smoothly in your life you turn to Archie and his tongue, but now you’re out of high school and free of me so you can fuck him all you want to help you forget.” He explained, viciously.

Betty’s jaw dropped in shock; not that he had said that but that it was so full of truth. “I-I, that’s not true…Archie is my best friend and our past is complicated.” She explained softly “You don’t know…you don’t know!”

Jughead rolled his eyes. “I know you better than anybody, even Archie, enough to know you need a therapist and not Archie’s cock even if Archie lacks the emotional depth to tell you that.” He crossed and uncrossed his arms. “Or did you forget that you loved me at some point?”

Betty’s chest tightened. “ _Love_ , I told you I would always love you.” She whispered. “How could you doubt that?”

Jughead shrugged and aggressively ran his hands through his hair. “Because you’ve been intimate with Archie multiple times and chose to hide it from me instead of being upfront if you love somebody aren’t you supposed to be able to talk to them and not kiss their best friend?” He questioned, his irritability clearly escalating. “Now what’s going on with you, huh, just tell me!”

Betty burst into tears. “We found Polly’s belongings but no Polly.” She sniffled. “Now all I can think of is that she’s stuck in some giant murder hole like I was-“ She stopped herself she hadn’t told anybody about that, not even her mother, she suffered with it in silence as she had done so many other times.

Jughead softened and set his beer down, pulling her into his arms. “Yeah, I read about that.” He exhaled.

Betty tensed up and looked up at him. “ You did?” She whispered.

Jughead nodded. “I followed your whole career.” He admitted. “Kind of disappointed you became a cop, never struck me as blue lives matter kind of gal, so maybe I don’t know that well.”

Betty laughed tearfully. “Why did you follow my career?” She sniffled. “I thought you hated me by now, that voicemail…”

Jughead spoke up. “I could never hate you, that voicemail I left was because I feel the exact opposite and you know that.” He explained. “But you did break my heart and I wanted you to feel as badly as you made me feel.”

“I never wanted to hurt.” She maintained sorrowfully. “I just thought not telling you would do that, acting like it never happened.”

Jughead pulled away from their embrace. “Then why did you do it…?” He trailed off. “Why is it always Archie?”

Betty twisted her hands. “I don’t love him…not like I like you, but he reminds me of a time where my life was simple and my Dad wasn’t a serial killer and there were no insane cults, we were just two naïve kids sitting in his garage listening to records.”

Jughead popped open another beer. “I’m sorry life with me was so difficult.” He mumbled.

Betty shook her head. “No, my life with you was real and sometimes that scared me when things got tough...”

He nodded. “Yeah, uh, but I thought when you were in love you were supposed to get through them together…”

Betty opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by the door closing; Archie appeared in the doorway. Both Betty and Jughead turned to him; Betty’s chest felt tight and she squeezed her hands, she gasped when she felt Jughead quickly move to uncurl them.

Archie smiled. “What’s going on in here?” He asked, suggestively. “Did you need to talk to me?”

Betty saw Jughead turn to look at her expectantly. “Um, not tonight.” She shook her head. “I just…”

Jughead intercepted the conversation. “She was just catching up with an old friend.” He winked.

Archie arched his eyebrows. “You two are friends again?” He was confused, but that wasn’t uncommon.

Jughead shrugged. “No, but we’re gonna get there.” He insisted.

A friend. Maybe that's what she really needed right now, not mindless intimacy but a good old-fashioned friend who would listen.


End file.
